The Curator
by atlantiaCAG
Summary: Not all the Time Lords were lost on Gallifrey. Been working on this for a while. Lots more to come!
1. Chapter 1

Strintas Prime was not a pretty world. Mostly full of rocks, dust and long dead volcanoes. But it is a world the humans and Sontaran's had been killing each other for for decades now. For at it's core was a mineral that when mined and refined could power an entire city for a lifetime with just a small piece.  
The war had been brutal and until recently it had looked as though the humans were going to win, but then the day came when hundreds of thousands of Sontaran reenforcements had arrived and the human armies found themselves out manned and seriously out numbered.

Lieutenant Kara Grant had been on Strintas Prime for a year now and that in itself was a record. No other soldier had stayed on this hell hole for that long. Now her time was up. She had volunteered to lead a suicide mission deep into Sontaran territory, to plant explosives on their energy station which would cause an explosion large enough to wipe out their entire base. Everyone knew this was the only way the human forces would have any chance of winning.

The three man team had managed to get onto the Sontaran base without being spotted, this was the first part of their impossible mission complete. This was the last place Kara had ever imagined to find herself. Growing up she expected to live a long happy life, get married, have children and then one day grandchildren and then die peacefully after a long, happy fulfilling life. As soon as she had arrived on this planet she had realised quite quickly this was probably not likely to happen. She had no problem walking to her death, not when it meant that thousands of people would live on and the conflict would finally be over. As they stepped into the energy station they were met with a sole Sontaran guard. Kara, without even thinking about it, pulled the trigger of her weapon and the strange looking alien vaporized in front of her. All three soldiers kept walking deeper into the station. The heat was getting unbarebly hot. Kara chose to ignore it, in the scheme of things it didn't really matter, well it wouldn't really matter for much longer.

"I can't do this." Corporal Simon Jones said standing still.

"What?" Kara replied.

"I'm sorry I can't do this." he replied starting to cry.

"This isn't the best time to decide you want to change your mind!" Kara replied.

"Corporal you're going to shut the hell up, man up and continue with the mission YOU volunteered for." Sergeant Harry Yates said.

"I CAN'T" Simon replied.

"Keep your god damn voice down." Kara replied, "We really don't have time for this."

Harry grabbed Simon by the shoulder and dragged the much smaller soldier behind him.

"Take your damn hands off me." Simon replied taking out his knife and stabbing Harry in the neck with it. He tore the knife out and blood sprayed everywhere.

Kara only had moments to react.

"I'm sorry." Simon replied, "I'm not going to die here." and he lunged at Kara.

She pulled the trigger again and killed the younger man before turning and carrying on to her objective, not letting herself even think about what had just happened.  
Minutes later she found herself closer to her target. She took out the small explosive device and looked at it for a moment. It was hard to think that something so small was about to cause so much damage. As she took a deep breath alarms started to blare all around her. Damn she thought, they must have found Harry's body, she knew she didn't have much time so she started to run. When she reached the main power core it was massive, they could have put three aircraft carriers in here. She took a deep breath and set the small bomb. Everything was done, all she had to do now was wait, wait thirty seconds, thirty seconds that would last for an eternity but at the same time go so quickly. Kara sat down and took a photograph out of her pocket. She looked at the small picture and smiled. Taken last time she had been home of her with her parents and sister. Despite the fact she knew what she was doing was right, she hoped that they would be able to understand that too. She closed her eyes and kissed the picture. Seconds later as she opened her eyes everything her vision felt as though it was starting to blur. A strange noise rang in her ears. The energy core was starting to blur and mix with what looked like an old museum. Was she already dead? Everything seemed to start to come into focus and the core was gone, instead she was somewhere completely different, somewhere unlike anything she'd ever seen before. On one side were rows of books from floor to ceiling and the ceiling was almost too high for her to see. Spiral staircases lined the sides. On the other there were artefacts, things she'd never even seen before, but a lot of it looked so old. In front of her in the middle was a raised platform with a control panel on top of it that looked completely out of place. It was so technologically advanced, again unlike things she had ever seen before. Tubes and Spirals ran out of the top of it heading off towards the ceiling and the ceiling it was beautiful. It was like the most beautiful sky she had ever seen. Fluffy white clouds and what looked like birds flying through them.

"Well this is certainly unexpected!" she heard a male voice say.

She brought her attention back to the raised control panel in front of her. Stepping out from behind the console was a young man with short brown hair and stubble that made him look as though he hadn't shaved for a few days. The black suit, black shirt and black tie he was wearing were extremely smart and looked very very expensive. His black shoes looked as though they had been polished to within an inch of their lives, you could almost see the whole room in them.

"Am I dead?" Kara stuttered.

"I shouldn't think so, unless you're a ghost? Oh you're not a ghost are you? I really don't have a good track record with ghosts!" He dashed down the stairs from the platform to Kara and poked her on the arm, "No you're definitely not a ghost." He took out a hand-held device from his pocket and pressed a control on it that made a purple light flash as he waved it in front of her. When it stopped he looked at the strange pen shaped device, "Nope you're definitely human. Hang on who are you and how did you get here?"

Kara looked at him as though she had lost her mind. The strange man had started to walk around her with a quizzical look on his face.

"I'm Lieutenant Kara Grant of the United Earth Forces."

"Hello Lieutenant Kara Grant of the United Earth Forces, what are you doing here?"

"I don't know where I am, I was on Strintas Prime, I'd just set a bomb off. Where am I?"

"Why would you be on Stintas Prime? Who in their right mind would go there and why would you set off a bomb?" Suddenly a look of realisation appeared on his face, "Oh yes, there was that little incident wasn't there. Oh a bomb OH Kara Grant, OH dear!"

"Oh dear what? What do you mean little incident?! Where the hell am I?!" Kara shouted.

"Right okay, you, well you really shouldn't be here, neither should I. You see I'd set course for Earth and it would seem the destination was taken out of my hands." He stopped in front of her, "My name is the Curator and I'm a Time Lord, you may not have heard of us."

Kara laughed, "You're a Time Lord? I thought they were all dead?"

"Well most of them are, some of made it out, it's a long story, anyway this is my TARDIS you've found yourself in and it would appear it decided to save you."

"What?!" she said utterly confused.

The Curator took hold of her hand and ran with her to the large wooden doors in the corner of the room. As they reached the end of the gangway where the doors sat the Curator turned for a moment.

"Okay not Lieutenant Kara Grant you've done wonderfully so far so please keep it up and don't freak out." he said before opening the doors.

Kara's mouth fell open. Outside the two doors was utter destruction. The tiny bomb she had set off had caused so much devastation and yet somehow they were looking at it, alive.

"But how are we? You're really a Time Lord, this is really a TARDIS?" she asked.

The Curator smiled and nodded his head.

"You have to take me back to headquarters, they have to know I'm alive." Kara said.

"About that, I can't." he replied as he closed the doors.

"You have too."

"I really can't. You see in coming here, my TARDIS," he said through gritted teeth looking at the console for a moment, "has done something that shouldn't have happened."

"What are you talking about?"

"You died here today. History has you recorded as being dead."

"What?"

"That's why I recognised your name. You ended the war here on this planet today with your sacrifice. The TARDIS seems to have taken it upon itself to save you. So Lieutenant Kara Grant, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're stuck with me!" he said.

"What?"


	2. Chapter 2

Lieutenant Kara Grant stood silently looking at the Time Lord who stood in front of her. He smiled awkwardly as he waited for her to speak.

"I have to go home. My parents have to know I'm alive." Kara said.

"Lieutenant, please, you have to listen to me and you have to understand why you can't go home." The Curator replied.

"No YOU don't understand." she replied and raised her rifle towards him.

The Curator smiled again and chuckled, "Before you shoot me and I have to change this face that I've become quite accustomed to now will you please hear me out?"

"Make it good." she replied.

He reached into his inside pocket.

"What are you doing?" she demanded gripping her rifle tighter.

"Oh sorry yes, it's not a weapon," he brought his hand back out so she could see and was holding the small pen like device she had seen him use earlier, "It's just a sonic screwdriver."

"A sonic screwdriver?"

"Yes an old friend put me onto them, fantastic little bits of kit, I couldn't be without it." he pressed one of the small buttons on it and the purple light flashed again. In front of her a video screen appeared out of thin air.

"The reason why I knew who you were was because of how high profile your death was. Every human across all the worlds heard about the sacrifice you made. The war ended as you hoped it would and it never started again." News articles began to flash on the screen as the Curator spoke, "Upon seeing the horrors that the humans had to endure during the conflicts your family started an organisation in your name to help the soldiers that came back. You know better than anyone the conditions you had to live with and some of the horrific injuries that happened. Because of you, your sister Anna will become Prime Minister when she's older and she will start a process that will revolutionise the armed forces and make sure nothing like that ever happens again. Because of you Kara, because of what you did and the sacrifice you made here today. The amount of lives your story touched and the amount of good that happens because of your death will quite literally change the world."

Kara had already lowered her weapon, "But I'm not dead." she said as tears began to run down her face.

"My dear, Lieutenant Kara Grant is dead. The woman standing before me is now just Kara Grant."

"Just Kara Grant?!"

He put his hands on her shoulders, "My dear Lieutenant what happened here today as far as I'm aware is unheard of. My TARDIS decided to save you, not me, this ship. It decided to give you a new life. It decided you were worthy of that."

"And what kind of life can I have now? Without my family?"

"Oh my dear you can have a life where you do anything you want. I can show you the universe and I can show you the whole of time. My dear Lieutenant Grant, I never wanted to travel with anyone again, but fate has decided that we should face our futures together. So would you do me the honour of travelling through time and space with me?"

Kara smiled through the tears, the Curator's words had had their desired effect.

"Can I at least see my family? Even if I can't speak to them, can I just see them one last time?"

The Curator looked at the woman standing in front of him and despite his better judgement shook his head, "One last time. But you must promise me you will not make yourself known to them."

She nodded and wiped the tears from her dirt stained face.

"Come on I'll show you where you can clean yourself up and find something clean to wear."

She dropped the rifle and took the Time Lord's hand.

He led her up the steps and past the control console in the middle of the room. At the back of the room, unseen till now, stood a grand staircase which led off in four different directions. Kara was amazed at what she was seeing.

After walking down a number of very long corridors they stopped outside one of the doors and the Curator opened it.

"This can be your room." he said as he held the door for her.

She walked inside and couldn't believe what she was seeing. Inside was an exact replica of her apartment back on Earth.

"What?! How?!" she said.

"The TARDIS used it's psychic interface to see where you lived and it has recreated it down to the smallest detail, even down to all your clothes and trinkets."

"My god this is amazing." She walked over to the window and stood looking at the exact view she would have at home that looked out over the massive city that was London.

"It wants you to feel as close to being at home as it can."

"Thank you." the hard persona fell away and she hugged the Time Lord, "Thank you."

"You're very welcome Kara. I'll leave you to get ready, I'll be in the control room when you're done."

"I don't think I'll remember the way."

"Don't worry my dear, if you get lost, the TARDIS will show you the way."

As the Curator turned and left Kara stood and looked at the exact replica of her apartment. It was unbelievable.


	3. Chapter 3

Kara wiped the condensation of the mirror in her bathroom and took a look at herself. She was starting to feel more normal since she had been able to have a hot shower. She had finally stopped crying and had decided to attempt to make the best of her new life. She quickly dried her hair and tied it back from her face. It felt like a lifetime ago since she had felt like a woman instead of just another soldier. She walked back into the bedroom and opened the wardrobe. Even though the Curator had told her the TARDIS had copied everything from her apartment back on Earth, she kept expecting to find things wouldn't be the same. Inside she was met by all of her clothes. She had started to wonder if she may be dead after all and this may be some kind of after life, it all seemed too perfect. Kara took out her favourite pair of jeans, her favourite T-shirt and a leather jacket she had spent £500 on, the most she had ever spent on an item of clothing. After quickly dressing she looked at herself again in a mirror. She took a deep breath before walking out of her apartment and into the TARDIS corridors. She knew she had gone the wrong way immediately when an arrow appeared on the floor in front of her, pointing in the opposite direction. She smiled and let out a laugh.

"Thank you." she said quietly, before turning and walking in the other direction. Minutes later, with a little help, Kara found herself walking down the grand stair case in the control room of the TARDIS.

"Very nice Miss Grant," The Curator said, "Was everything in your quarters to your liking?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes it was, thank you so much and please call me Kara." she replied.

The Curator still smiled at her, "I'm very pleased to hear that."

He moved around the control console pressing buttons she had no idea for what. She looked up at the ceiling, it still looked like a beautiful spring day, blue skies, fluffy white clouds and birds flying between them.

"I find it calming." the Curator said pointing upwards, "Spring has always been my favourite season on Earth, especially in England."

"Mine too." Kara replied.

"So, I need to ask, are you sure you want to go and see your parents?"

Kara nodded her head nervously.

"You remember what I said? I must insist you don't let them know you're there. I don't mean to sound cold hearted, but the future depends on it."

Kara nodded again, "Yes I'm sure and I promise you I just want to see them, just one last time."

The Curator nodded before turning back to the control console. She watched him whiz around pressing this and that before pulling down a leaver. The spirals and tubes that ran from the top of the console began to move up and down and it looked to Kara as if lightening was firing down them. The noise it made sounded like nothing she had ever heard before. She couldn't take her eyes off the amazing things she was seeing. At the point when she realised her jaw had dropped she saw the Curator smiling at her. She smiled back at the strange man in front of her. She wondered how many people before her had seen this. Even as a child she had heard stories about the Time Lords and the fantastical things they did, she never imagined she would get to see it up close, never mind be standing with one, in his TARDIS. Moments later the lightning stopped along with the noise and she realised everything was silent. She looked at the Curator who held out his hand for her to take hold of.

"Come on." He said kindly.

She took hold of his hand and followed him down the steps away from the console and across the gangway that let to the huge wooden doors in the corner.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked again.

She nodded her head again and took a deep breath. The Curator opened the TARDIS door and they both walked outside. It was a crisp winters day and they both immediately felt the chill in the air. Kara could see her breath straight away. They were standing in a vast cemetery that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"How long have I been dead?" Kara asked.

"I've taken us a year into the future." The Curator replied.

"Where's the TARDIS?" she asked.

"Give it a moment you'll see it." The Curator said.

She looked where they'd walked from and it just looked like the side of a crypt. Moments later the TARDIS appeared where she had been looking. The grey box the size of a phone box came into vision.

"I can see it now." Kara replied.

"No one else will be able too. Because you've already travelled in it you can see it, the TARDIS will always make itself visible to you."

She turned back and surveyed the cemetery in front of her. She saw three people in the distance walking towards a grave.

"Oh my god there they are." Kara said pointing. Her emotions took over and she began to cry. She put her hand to her mouth.

They stopped at the grave she knew must be hers. The Curator took her hand again and led her closer.

Her mother laid flowers by the grave stone. They could see there were already lots of bouquets other people had left.

"They seem happy." Kara said.

"I'd say they look proud," The Curator replied, "Part of them will never be completely happy again, you never can be when you lose someone you love that much."

"You sound like you're talking from experience?" Kara replied.

"My loses are a story for another day." he replied.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You've only known me for a couple of hours." Kara asked.

The Curator looked at her, "You're a very special woman. The TARDIS took it upon itself to save you and that's not something I can ignore. In my mind you deserve a bright future. While I can't promise that it will always be fun, at times it can be downright dangerous and sometimes we will be fighting for our lives, but I think you of all people can handle it. You deserve some kindness for the things you've done. So while I might not be able to give you the life that you want, I can offer you a life. Even though it's only been a couple of hours I already enjoy your company very much. It's your moment of need and I'm going to help you, whether you want me to or not." he said with a chuckle.

Kara smiled at him. She watched her parents and her sister for a few minutes in silence.

"Lets go." she said.

"Are you sure?" The Curator asked.

Kara nodded her head, "Yes. I know they're going to be okay."

"Yes they are my dear. Now anywhere in the universe, at any time, where would you like to go first?"

Kara thought for a moment and then smiled, "Woodstock" she replied.


End file.
